The opulent hotel ballroom was filled with guests. Delicious food covered the tables; the men were in sharp suits, and the women were elegantly dressed. A huge figure stood at the podium, microphone in hand, giving a speech: "Thank you. I am honored to join you tonight to commemorate Spider-Man. We were once very good friends, just like..."
"What? Listen to the motherf—er talk. What a swine!" Spider-Man Noir scoffed. Spider-Ham instinctively nodded in agreement, then realized: "Hey, I can hear you!"
Noir grinned and pointed down: "Look at the waiters." The four looked below. Dozens of waiters, all wearing Spider-Man masks, moved between the tables.
The Prowler pointed to a corner of the ballroom: "There is Kingpin's private elevator. It goes directly to the control room for the Particle Collider deep underground."
"But how do we get in?" Spider-Ham asked, looking at the people walking around, including Tombstone, who was standing nearby. If Tombstone spotted them, they would be immediately discovered.
Middle-Aged Peter's gaze swept the room for a moment, and his body stiffened. He saw a long-lost figure—Mary Jane Watson!
"Maybe we can just walk in?" he suggested, clearly distracted. Spider-Man Noir mercilessly cut him off: "You just want to get close to Mary Jane, don't you? Snap out of it, buddy, she is not your MJ!"
"N-no..." Middle-Aged Peter mumbled, but Noir had hit the nail on the head.
"However..." Noir changed his tone. "You're right. We walk straight in!"
"Huh?" The other three looked at him, confused by his sudden agreement.
Noir explained: "Don't forget what our team is for. We are here to make Kingpin know we have arrived!"
Middle-Aged Peter realized: "I see! Then let's go!" He seemed desperate to enter. However, Noir grabbed his collar: "Listen, she is not your MJ. Don't create unnecessary complications! Think about Peter, Miles, Gwen, and Peni! Think about our mission plan!"
Middle-Aged Peter's face shifted through several expressions before he finally let out a heavy sigh. "I got it. I won't."
The four then quickly found the hotel's changing room, infiltrated it, and changed their attire. —There wasn't much to change; Noir and Middle-Aged Peter each grabbed a bowtie, and they "borrowed" a small food cart. The Prowler put a waiter's jacket over his armor and put on a Spider-Man mask. As for Spider-Ham, due to his unique physique, he was reluctantly hidden beneath the food cart.
The three pushed the cart out of the kitchen and into the ballroom. By this time, Kingpin had finished his speech and was leaving the hall, taking his private elevator down to the underground control room. Even Tombstone was nowhere to be seen.
Seeing this, the three visibly relaxed. "They must know we are here, but they left on purpose. It seems they don't want to fight in front of an audience," Spider-Man Noir concluded.
"Of course. Kingpin and his lieutenants are publicly perceived as legitimate, successful businessmen. They can't let the world see their dark side," Middle-Aged Peter said, though his gaze kept drifting toward a corner. MJ was sitting there. Tonight, she wore a black, off-the-shoulder dress with long, burgundy hair. Her face looked drawn and her eyes slightly red—a heartbreaking sight. Even with Noir's repeated warnings, Middle-Aged Peter couldn't help but be completely captivated by the nearly identical face.
"Focus on the mission," Noir discretely kicked him. Middle-Aged Peter took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and fought to clear his mind.
The group smoothly crossed the ballroom and reached the private elevator entrance. The two plainclothes bodyguards guarding the door were easily dispatched by the four heroes. The elevator was already descending, but that didn't deter them. This part was simple and brutal. Spider-Man Noir stepped forward, grabbed the elevator doors, and yanked them open. The four immediately jumped into the elevator shaft.
At the same time, in the underground control room, Kingpin received his subordinate's report. He curled his lip into a cold smile: "The little spiders are here, and Aaron, the traitor—I'll crush his bones one by one!"
Kingpin instructed his assistant, who was standing beside him: "The audience is in place. Initiate the sequence." "Yes, sir!" "Upload the genetic sequences of Vanessa Fisk and Richard Fisk (Kingpin's deceased wife and son)!" "Searching for a spatial match starting now..."
In the control room, Madam Octopus also received Kingpin's notification. She deftly multi-tasked, quickly finalizing the pre-ignition data for the collider.
[Initializing Primary Ignition Sequence.]
The particle accelerator began to spin rapidly. Two particle streams carrying immense energy shot out from the coils in the distance. Confined by the strong magnets, they traveled forward, finally reaching the collision section.
[Secondary Ignition Countdown initiated.]
[Five...] [Four...] [Three...]
As the countdown finished, two brilliant particle streams shot out from the two accelerators, colliding with one another. The entire borough of Brooklyn shuddered. On the streets, light posts, houses, skyscrapers, bridges... everything began to twist and distort.
The four heroes had already reached the collision chamber via the elevator shaft but could only watch helplessly as the particle collision occurred.
"We're going in! Draw them out!" Spider-Man Noir declared instantly. They had very little time left. The Particle Collider would draw objects from parallel universes into this world and cause massive destruction across Brooklyn. They had to leave this universe and have Miles and The Prowler shut down the collider before the crisis escalated!
Regardless of whether Miles ultimately decided to kill Kingpin or just defeat him, that wasn't their concern. Their only job was to help defeat him!
SHICK SHICK SHICK— Dozens of fully armed thugs in suits poured out from all directions, their guns pointed directly at Spider-Man Noir and the others. The next moment, a storm of bullets swept toward them!
Spider-Man Noir leaped from the high platform, coordinating with Spider-Ham to slash through the crowd, attacking from the left and right. Relying on their Spider-Sense and superhuman agility, they effortlessly dodged all the bullets, sending their attackers flying. The only difference was that most of the thugs struck by Spider-Ham were merely knocked unconscious, while those struck by Spider-Man Noir were often instantly dispatched with lethal force.
Middle-Aged Peter Just then, a lid dropped from the ceiling above them, and two long tentacles shot out, one aiming for each hero!